MAKING sport appear “cool” is one of the biggest challenges we face as we try to encourage girls in the 11-17 year age group to participate in sport. So what can we do about it?

Uefa have just signed up Rita Ora, who I am led to believe, is definitely cool, or should that be “sick”! This strategy will, I am sure, pay dividends in the long term and will get people talking and thinking more about women and girls in football.

Lisa Evans, a professional footballer from Perth, is one of three featured players in the #weplaystrong campaign, who post blogs on all aspects of their life. It’s a creative and exciting idea.

Uefa are working hard to change attitudes towards women and girls in football and have invested heavily in research to inform the direction of this campaign.

At the Scottish Women in Sport conference on June 8 we will have Kayleigh Grieve, who hails from Glasgow and is responsible for Uefa’s women’s marketing strategy. It is designed to help grow participation and support Uefa’s flagship women’s competitions.

Grieve is also managing a sponsorship sales programme as Uefa look to drive direct revenue from the women’s game for the first time. This is long overdue, as I believe firms are now willing to invest in women’s and girl’s sport as a stand-alone project, as the stature of women in sport increases daily.

We have also widened the debate at the conference and invited GirlGuiding Scotland to present to our delegates. Their annual research, Girls’ Attitudes, provides a platform for girl’s and young women’s voices. It is the biggest survey of its kind and garners opinions from more than 1900 girls and young women aged seven to 21 across the UK.

It is a strong tool pointing us in the right direction and advising us on what the issues are.

Finally, a big shout out to everyone who shared their stories during Mental Health Awareness Week. It’s not easy to do so but the more we normalise this subject by discussing it, the easier it will be for people to ask for help.